Blog Topic 6

How far do you agree that the need to set up a Common Market was the most important reason for merger between Singapore and Malaya?

I agree to some extent that the need to set up a common market was the most important reason for merger between Singapore and Malaya,however,there were other reasons that were quite important too.The PAP government wanted a Common Market so that Singapore's new industries would be supported and tariffs could be reduced.With a Common Market,goods could be sold and bought freely without being taxed.This also meant more jobs could be created,industries could further expand and trade would increase greatly.

However,Singapore also had another few reasons for merger with Malaya.Merger with Malaya would be Singapore's best hope of breaking away from colonial rule from the British.It was the main objective of the government throughout those years of politics,David Marshall,Lim Yew Hock and many other political parties.They all fought to have a say in Singapore's future,driving it from a British colonial country to a independent country with its own say.Besides,without merger,the communists might continue to get followers,and one day take over the government of Singapore.With the help of Malaya,Singapore would be able to control the Communists.

Thus,i think that while setting up of a Common Market was a important reason,breaking away from colonial rule and controlling the Communists was another important reason.

Blog topic 5

"Singapore's struggle to achieve internal self-government in the period 1945-1959 had its costs."Was it worth it?Give at least 2 reasons to support your stand.





I think the struggle was worth its cost as it eventually showed the people that they could not always rely on the british to protect them forever.it also showed the people of singapore that they should not be pushed around by the british and they had the ability to run their own country.

Firstly,the riots of maria hertogh and the anti-national service riots showed the british that the people of Singapore were dissatisfied with the way they ruled Singapore.
The people of singapore were unhappy with the court's decision in Maria Hertogh's case and thought they were supporting the Dutch at the cost of people in Singapore.Hence,they felt that in future cases, the mainly British court would support the Europeans rather then considering the fact that Singapore was a Southeast Asian country which could think for itself.
The judge in court at that time did not consider the fact that the crowds outside the court were gathering,hence when the army was called in,the disaster caused an overall death toll of 18 people in one mere riot.

Secondly,Singapore could only wait to be deemed unuseful, had the earlier leaders of Singapore such as David Marshall and Lee Kuan Yew not fought for internal self-government,letting the british rule over us and discriminate against us, the "non-White" people.

The riots were a reflection of the discontentment of the local people,leading to the decision to allow more political power to the people so as to win their favour,however,that little amount of power was not enough to satisfy the locals,hence when david marshall won the elections in 1955, it showed the British, who were expecting a pro-British political party to win, that the people were not satisfied with the british rule.The people of Singapore showed their silent protest by voting for political parties that were strongly against British rule such as the Labour Front.As the majority of voters during the 1955 elections were Chinese who did not support pro-British political parties,it showed the british they were fighting a losing battle against the people of Singapore.

Thus, i think the cost Singapore suffered was worth the while in the struggle for self-government.

Blog Topic 4

In your opinion, what could have prevented the Maria Hertogh riots in 1950? Give at least 2 suggestions.

I think the riots could have been stopped if not for the newspapers.In actual fact,the riots were aimed at the europeans for siding with the people of the same race as them as they thought they were superior,hence the riot was sparked off by the injustice people felt and suffered for so many years.

Firstly,Maria Hertogh was a 13 year old girl at the time of the riots,when her parents who went missing during the war came back to claim her.However,during the absence of her parents,she was brought up by a malay woman and her husband,Che Aminah.

Thus, when the tug-of-war for Maria ended, she was found in the Christian convent she was placed in,sitting and weeping beside a nun.The newspapers unfortunately published photos of that scene causing an uproar among the malay community. The newspapers should not have published the photos.

Secondly,i think the decision of returning Maria to her natural parents was very hastily made.If the judge had'nt returned Maria to Che Aminah before deciding to give her back to her natural parents,the riots might not have happened.As a result of the wishy-washy behaviour of the court,it caused innocents to be killed.

Hence,I think the above suggestions would have stopped the riots from happening.

Blog Topic 3

Did the Industrial Revolution change the way people lived and worked in the 19th century for the better or worse?Explain your answer by providing examples.

In my opinion,it changed the way people lived and worked for the better,but there were also a few minorities where the people were worse off then they were before.

The invention of new machines and the discovery of new sources of power to drive these machines brought about changes that led to the Industrial Revolution.

In the 18th century,making cloth by hand was a long and tedious process in Britian.The workers were also only able to produce enough cloth for themselves.Thus,when new machines such as the spinning machine were invented,it changed the way people worked and lived.The quality of the fabrics produced was much better and the time taken was shorter.

When new machines were produced, a new source of power was needed.The steam-engine was then invented.The pressure from the steam produced by the coal burning provided the energy for machines to produce goods in great quantities.Very soon the use of machines spread to the rest of Europe.

As those machines were located in factories,workers began to worked in factories instead of working at home.However,working conditions were unsanitary as no one governed the factories.The work was often dangerous and many freak accidents involving workers happened.Education also suffered because of the demands of work.Children as young as 8 were forced to work in the factories.Home life suffered as women had to face a double burden of factory work as well as household chores.

Thus, I think it did change people's lives for the better majorically.

Reflection topic 2

Blog Topic:The national museum has decided to erect a statue in front of its entrance. They have to choose between Stamford Raffles and Tan Tock Seng. If you were working for the museum, who would you choose and why?

In my opinion,I would choose to erect a statue of Tan Tock Seng.One of the many reasons is that Stamford Raffles although most records in history record him to be the founder of singapore,it was possible that many historians were pressured into writing propeganda because of the British power.

Tan Tock Seng might be one of our local founders of Singapore as little is mentioned about the local merchants who helped to build the foundations of Singhapore.Although Tan Tock Seng was born in melaka,he contributed much to the sucess of present Singapore.

Many Singaporeans only refer to Stamford Raffles as our founder,they completely forgot about the local ancestors who have made many things possible today.Tan Tock Seng helped built a pauper hospital in Pearl's Hill where people could seek treatment at little or no cost,this helped the standards of hygiene to improve tremendously and reduced the rate of death.

I did not choose Sir Stamford Raffles because Stamford Raffles already had a statue erected at Victoria Theatre Hall and people coming out of the museum might already have read about him in the museum.

Who really 'founded' Singapore?

In my opinion,William Farquhar shld be the founder of Singapore.
Raffles left singapore straight after signing the treaty with Sultan Hussein and the Temenggong.He did not help to develop Singapore into a small settlement.Farquhar had to start off the new settlement by solving many problems.Farquhar's men had to clear the land on the northern bank of the Singapore River so that they could build attap house for themselves.Then they also had to protect Singapore by building gun positions on their own,without any help from Raffles even though he was the one who had wanted to change Singapore into a British colony.
Farquhar had a diifficult job trying to help get food for the new settlers that were not charged at rocket high prices.The people of Melaka tried to get more money than what the food was worth once they heard of the food shortage.There was also a high crime rate.Farquhar tried to stop the fighting by starting a police force,but there was too few police men to control the ruly crowd.Rats and centipedes caused much diseases in the new settlement,Farquhar organised a campaign against these hated pests by offering monetary rewards for each pest killed.Farquhar's solution to the pests worked and Singapore's population grew.
Thus,I conclude that Major William Farquhar is the fouder of Singapore.